To Prevent an Unfortunate Series of Events
by MegGonagall
Summary: After the Battle at Hogwarts, Voldemort remains at large. Dumbledore has chosen to send Hermione to the year 1977, where she must prevent certain events from taking place, save the Marauders' and Lily's lives and defeat Voldemort before he becomes too powerful. Falling in love with Sirius Black is just a perk... or inevitable disaster.
1. Chapter 1

Story Cover by Amoretti at The-Dark-Arts

And I'd like to thank my wonderful beta for my rewrite, motherconfessor!

* * *

Hermione Granger fidgeted as she sat and faced Professor Dumbledore's desk. Her heart raced as she thought of at least a dozen reasons he could have asked for her that evening. The letter that he had owled to her earlier that morning was still firmly clenched in her hand.

She swallowed loudly as she watched Dumbledore scribble with haste across the parchment on his desk. Whatever he wrote seemed to have been very important. The look on his face was one she had seen him wear on few occasions; usually when something serious had happened. It left her feeling exceptionally unsettled.

As she waited for him to finish, she couldn't help but to think that it felt quite odd that he had summoned only her to his office. Never could she remember a time when she had been called to see him - especially without Harry or Ron. She didn't enjoy keeping secrets from the boys if she could have helped it, yet Dumbledore specifically stated not to tell them anything. She worried she done something wrong.

Finally Dumbledore rolled up the piece of parchment, and with a quick swish of his wand he sent it neatly into an envelope, before sealing it with purple wax. When he looked into her eyes she immediately felt more anxious than before. A crease formed between Dumbledore's brows and his shoulders sank as if he bore the weight of the world on them. It was the first time he had ever appeared as old as his grey hair and wrinkles would suggest he was. She had never seen the man look so tired and defeated. There was something incredibly wrong about it. Someone so powerful should not have looked that way.

His piercing blue eyes screamed of sadness, which caused Hermione's brown ones to widen. Whatever he summoned her for could not have been good news.

"I would like to thank you, Miss Granger, for agreeing to meet with me this evening," he began solemnly. "I am afraid I have a rather large task to ask of you."

Hermione grew more nervous by the moment.

"Sir?" she asked, her voice trembled.

Dumbledore clasped his hands together; his eyes seemed to lose their signature twinkle.

"As you know, Harry, Mr. Weasley and yourself have successfully destroyed all, but one, of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, yet he remains at large. Despite numerous efforts, I have detected neither hide nor hare of him."

Dumbledore sighed heavily as he stroked his long, snowy beard. Hermione waited patiently for him to continue, still unsure as to why he had called for her, and how she could possibly have done anything to find him. If Dumbledore, who was the greatest Wizard she had ever known, had not located Voldemort, what on earth could she have done differently?

"Perhaps I had been going about this incorrectly," he said quietly. "If there were a way we could destroy Voldemort, before he became so powerful, that would change everything."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow, she was undeniably confused.

"But sir, the prophecy?"

Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Miss Granger, do you honestly believe that all of the prophecies which lie in that hall come true? Or for that matter, are accurate? Certainly not."

"So what is it that you needed me for, sir?"

Dumbledore opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small wooden box. "Time. What we need is more time," he answered cryptically.

Slowly it began to dawn on Hermione. He had given her a similar response four years prior, when she and Harry were desperate to find a way to save Sirius Black from the Dementor's Kiss. But surely he was not asking her to travel back in time? All of the time-turners had been destroyed. She was there when it had happened.

"Sir?"

Silently, Dumbledore opened the box; Hermione caught a glint of gold resting inside of it. Her mouth popped opened when he began to pull out the thin golden chain, and she gasped as her eyes rested upon the small hour glass pendant dangling before her.

 _He had a Time-Turner._

"But - but how, Professor? I thought they had all been destroyed?" she whispered.

"Ah, but you see, Miss Granger, I happened to have had one in my possession on that very evening. I've kept it ever since, biding my time and waiting for the correct moment to present itself. As it seems, that moment has arrived," he explained.

Hermione's heart thumped wildly in her chest. How far had he planned on sending her back? When would she return home? Would she return home? And most importantly…

"Why, sir? Why _me_?"

Dumbledore's eyes softened and a hint of the twinkle she had become accustomed to over the years made a small appearance.

"Why not?"

Hermione opened her mouth to provide at least a dozen reasons as to why not, yet Dumbledore raised his hand to silence her.

"You are exceedingly clever, more clever than most, also exceptionally brave. Those two traits rarely go hand-in-hand. I do not feel I could trust this task to anyone else," he explained, sincerely.

Hermione felt a lump in her throat, and tears prickle at the corners of her eyes. She felt nothing but shock and gratitude at Dumbledore's words.

"Thank you, sir," she paused to wipe away a single tear that slid down her cheek. "That means more to me than you know."

Dumbledore smiled warmly and inclined his head towards Hermione. She took a moment to compose herself before asking for more clarification regarding this mission he chose her to partake in.

"Sir? I was wondering, just exactly how far are you intending to send me back?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, and his expression turned businesslike once more.

"To the year nineteen seventy-seven, Miss Granger."

Hermione's heart felt as if it had stopped beating altogether.

"So far…"

"That is the year that Lord Voldemort truly began to build up his army, when the war was just beginning. Yes, before that he had committed many atrocities, but up until that time, he did much of his work underground. Only I, and a few others, were aware he had been behind such matters," he began explaining.

"But what am I to do to prevent the war?" she asked, panic leaked into her voice.

He looked at her over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "Alas, I am afraid I cannot provide the answer to that, Miss Granger. It will be something you will have to discover on your own."

How could he send her into this practically blind? How could he not have had a plan for her? _What_ would she discover on her own?

"When will I be leaving, sir?" she asked, trying to mentally prepare herself.

"I will allow you to return to your dormitory for the evening and give some more thought to the seriousness of this task I lay out in front of you. It is imperative that you do not breathe a word of this to anyone. If you succeed, the present that you have come to known will no longer exist. Everything and everyone you have known may be different. It is important that you understand that," he told her.

Hermione felt her body grow cold at Dumbledore's words. When she returned, would she still be friends with Harry and Ron? Would it be possible for Harry's parents to survive? And if they do, would Harry still be the same person she had grown to think of as a brother? Would he even still exist for that matter? Only then did Hermione truly begin to understand the implications of what her presence in the past could possibly mean.

"I understand, sir."

Dumbledore stood up, signifying the end of their meeting for the evening. He walked towards Hermione and gently patted her shoulder.

"Get some rest, Miss Granger. If you should decide to accept, please be at my office by nine tomorrow morning. You may take whatever belongings you feel are appropriate, but please keep things to a minimum," he advised her.

"Yes sir."

* * *

When Hermione arrived back to the common room, she was relieved to find it empty. She knew she did not have the acting skills to pretend as if nothing was wrong. Besides, she did not know if she could handle seeing her two best friends, knowing that it might have been the last time she would ever see them. At least, as they were now. Next time she would see them - if there was a next time - they would be completely different than what she had known.

Hermione dragged herself up the stairs and into her dormitory. Lavender and Parvati were fast asleep, their soft snoring filling the room. After she undressed and tucked herself in bed, she closed the hangings around her and whispered, " _Muffilato_." She let herself cry as she wondered how she would be able to face seeing Harry's parents and Sirius Black, knowing that in her time, they were all deceased. What if she failed?

A dark thought crossed her mind. That traitorous rat, Peter Pettigrew, would also be at school with them. How would she handle meeting him, knowing what he had become? Would she be able to control herself, or would she whip her wand out on the spot, and blast him away?

Hermione turned on her side and closed her eyes, praying for at least a few hours of sleep. She knew that she would end up taking on this role, but worried that she was in for more than she bargained for.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione woke early the following morning feeling groggy and not particularly well rested. She did not have much luck with sleep and spent most of the night tossing and turning. Her stomach was a tangle of nerves as she thought of what awaited her mere hours from then. Thinking that a hot shower might calm her, Hermione got out of bed slowly, stretched, then padded her way towards the bathroom.

As she stood and let the hot water pound on her tense muscles, her mind raced with hundreds of questions. How was she supposed to help defeat Voldemort in the past? What could she possibly do then, that she hadn't already done? Why her? It was Harry who was destined to bring down Voldemort, not Hermione. Everyone had known that. Harry was the _Chosen One_. Why had Dumbledore chosen _her_?

After she got out of the shower, dressed and tried to tame her frizzy hair, she began wandering around her room looking for things she could take with her. Of course she would bring her books, she wouldn't feel right without them. She picked up her battered copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ and stared at the worn cover. That book had been with her ever since she was eleven years old. Should she bring it? With a heavy sigh, she placed the book back on her bedside table. There really would not be a practical use for it; Dumbledore advised her to pack lightly.

Luckily she found a few articles of clothing that would be time appropriate for the late nineteen seventies, but still, she would need to do some shopping once she arrived. Before she closed her trunk, Hermione crouched on the floor and pulled a box from under her bed. Inside contained years worth of photos of herself, Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny. She went through them and watched the occupants wave and smile brightly up at her. Her eyes prickled as she watched and her lips tugged upwards in a sad smile. She decided she would bring them with her, just to have something of her old life to hang onto. Especially considering that if she succeeded, everything would be different once she returned.

Once she was finished packing, Hermione charmed her trunk so she could easily place it in her pocket. She took one last glance at her dormitory and walked out of it for the last time, closing the door gently behind her.

The common room was empty, which she was grateful for. She did not want to face Harry and Ron; she knew they would immediately be able to tell something was wrong. With a deep breath, Hermione marched straight through and out of the Portrait Hole, and tried not to let the fear consume her as she made her way towards the Headmaster's office.

At nine o'clock sharp, Hermione found herself in front of the large wooden doors, which led into Dumbledore's quarters. She knocked gently and felt her throat tighten.

"Come in, Miss Granger," Dumbledore called out.

Hermione walked inside and inclined her head towards Professor Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Professor," she said in a sand papery voice, then cleared her throat.

Dumbledore gestured at an armchair in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat. We have a few more issues we need to discuss before you make your departure."

"Yes, sir."

As Hermione sat down, Dumbledore pulled out the box containing the Time-Turner, a few pieces of parchment, and the envelope she watched him seal the previous evening. He set everything out in front of him, then placed the tips of his fingers together, as if in prayer.

"Now, Miss Granger," he began with purpose, "you will be arriving at King's Cross Station on the first of September, nineteen seventy-seven. While you are there, you will be posing as a seventh year student, who is a transfer from Ilvermorny - the wizarding institution in the United States," Dumbledore explained, assuming Hermione was not familiar with the name of the school.

"Yes, sir. I'm aware of the school," she told him. Hermione had read up on different wizarding schools throughout the world during her fourth year, when they were the host school for the Triwizard Tournament.

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled then reached for one of the parchments on his desk. "This," he began as he held it up in front of him, "contains your new identity. Transcripts, a birth certificate and transfer papers."

He reached forward and Hermione took the documents from him.

She looked down and began reading. Her new name would be Hermione Winters. Her date of birth remained the same, only the year was changed to nineteen fifty-nine which would make her eighteen on the nineteenth of September, nineteen seventy-seven. Next she looked at her transcripts, which she was surprised to see all of her grades remained the same, they were just falsified to look as if they had come from Ilvermorny, instead of Hogwarts. Her transfer papers stated that she had lost her parents in a car crash, and had to reside with her only living relative, a great aunt, who lived in England.

Seeing everything in front of her truly made the journey she was about to partake in feel more real. She looked up slowly and saw Dumbledore's eyes piercing into her.

"Thank you, Professor," she whispered. Her heart almost felt like it was about to beat out her chest.

Dumbledore nodded then stood from his chair. "Miss Granger, it is imperative that you try to befriend James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, and Peter Pettigrew as quickly as you can manage."

Hermione's eyes widened. Peter Pettigrew? Why on earth would she try to befriend him only so he could betray her at some point as well?

Almost in response to Hermione's thoughts, Dumbledore's tone turned stern as he said, "Yes, Peter Pettigrew as well."

Hermione exhaled loudly then nodded. "If you say so, Professor."

Dumbledore appeared to fight a smile as he handed her the box with the Time-Turner.

"The Time-Turner has been set for you to arrive at the correct moment. Once you arrive, please keep it on your persons at all times. It would not do well for anyone to discover you have it, or for it to fall into the wrong hands," he advised.

"I understand, sir," she said as she placed the golden chain around her neck.

"Miss Granger, I will ask you only once more. Are you positive you wish to do this?" he asked solemnly, surveying her over the top of his glasses.

Was she positive? No. But did she feel as if it was her duty to do this? Absolutely. Of course she was terrified. She was venturing into a world that would be completely alien to her. She would be befriending people who were either deceased, or people she had known as an adult during her life. She would be entering a world where the first war was in its infancy. A world that was unknown and possibly more dangerous than the one she was in at the moment. But fear had never stopped her before. Hermione always faced everything head on, regardless of how terrified she was.

Hermione took a deep breath to center herself and looked Dumbledore directly in his eyes. "Yes, sir. I can do this," she said, even though she wasn't entirely sure if she could.

Dumbledore looked satisfied by her answer, but only just. He patted her shoulder gently and gave her a small smile. "Very well, Miss Granger. Are you ready?"

Her hands trembled, yet she stood straight and tried to appear confident. "I am, sir."

Hermione took all of the documents Dumbledore had forged for her, stuffed them in her pocket and reached for the Time-Turner around her neck.

"Good luck and be safe, Miss Granger. If you should need anything whilst you are in the past, please do not hesitate to find me. I know that my past self would be more than willing to assist you with anything you should require," he told her sincerely.

Hermione gulped. "Thank you, sir. I will see you soon, I suppose," she said.

Her brow furrowed at the idea of all the implications coming with this task. Mere seconds would pass for Dumbledore and yet, she had no idea how much time would pass for her. What her face would look like. If she would even make it back.

She tried not to show it, but she was terrified beyond comprehension. How she stood there so calmly, she would never know. With a shaking hand, she activated the Time-Turner. The last thing she noticed, before everything blurred around her, was Professor Dumbledore's attention turn towards his office door. A look of relief was visible on his face.

Suddenly everything around her became a swirl of whirling colors. Although she believed herself to be prepared for the sensation of travelling backwards through time, this time if felt much more intense. She had the sensation of falling a great distance and was becoming extraordinarily dizzy.

Just as she was sure she was about to vomit, or faint, everything stopped just as suddenly as it came on. She swayed back and forth due to the weakness in her knees. Hermione took a moment to collect herself before looking around at the scenery around her. Her heart pounded and she began feeling more isolated than ever before, despite the numerous amount of people all around. She quickly stuffed the Time-Turner down the front of her shirt and began to walk towards the wall between platforms nine and ten.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione stood staring at the red brick wall in front of her, surrounded by steam, buzzing conversations and whistling off in the distance. Her heart raced as she took a deep breath and watched a handful of Hogwarts students disappear before her eyes. She kept up an internal mantra; _Deep breaths. You can do this. Deep breaths…_ After glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, she squared her shoulders and began walking briskly towards the entrance to Platform 9 ¾; she kept her eyes closed the entire time.

Suddenly she was aware of the more familiar, usually comforting sounds - owls hooting, spells being cast, frogs croaking. Her body began to tremble as she took in the scene around her. The large scarlet steam engine sat on the tracks; for the first time in her life the sight did not fill her with the feeling of coming home. Instead, she was filled with trepidation, for the train looked more like transportation to a prison, rather than to the school she had loved. The students around her definitely looked like they were from the nineteen seventies. Most of the boys had hair as long as hers, a majority of the girls had long, sleek hair, parted neatly down the middle. Almost everyone had on bellbottom trousers, muggle and wizarding band t-shirts or flannel button down shirts. She looked down at her maroon jumper and tan trousers and suddenly became quite self conscious.

Hermione shook her head in an attempt to pull herself together, then removed the trunk she had shrunk from her pocket. She took her wand out, returned the trunk to normal size and began to tow it towards the train; she hoped to find a compartment alone in order to work out some sort of plan.

As she struggled trying to store her trunk on the train, she heard a voice behind her that she immediately recognized. Hermione froze.

"Oi, Prongs. Fresh meat."

Hermione shut her eyes and prayed he wasn't speaking about her. She pleaded to any god, or goddess, who would listen that he would just pass her by.

"Not bad, Padfoot," said another voice, which had a slight hint of familiarity to it, yet was somehow just off.

Bile slowly made it's way up her throat as she heard footsteps approach. Unfortunately, she knew it was her they were discussing. Her heart raced.

"Well, let's not deprive the poor thing of my presence," she heard the first boy say, before she felt a light tap to her shoulder.

When Hermione turned around and looked at the two boys, who were grinning from ear to ear in front of her, it took every ounce of strength she had to remain upright. It was Sirius Black, and, who she instantly realized must have been, James Potter. She suddenly felt very dizzy.

"Hello there, beautiful," Sirius spoke first and flashed a perfect set of straight white teeth. "I don't believe I've seen you before."

Hermione was speechless. Not only was she face to face with two people she had known to be dead, she wasn't immune to the fact that a young Sirius was exceptionally handsome.

James and Sirius shared a concerned look in response to Hermione's silence - and, she assumed, the dumbfounded look she was sure was plastered all over her face.

"Erm," James reached up and ruffled his hair. "You're new, I'm assuming?" he asked.

Mentally scolding herself for acting so stupid, Hermione forced a smile onto her face and hoped it looked genuine.

"Y-yes," she whispered. "Er - a transfer from Ilvermorny."

She felt the heat slowly rise up her cheeks and began to realize this would be far more difficult than she had anticipated.

James offered her his hand. "I'm James Potter," he told her, though she was more than aware. He was the spitting image of Harry. Except for the eyes. James' eyes were hazel, and obviously, he was missing the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead that his son would come to have.

"Hermione Winters," she said as she returned his handshake.

Sirius nudged James out of the way. "Lovely to meet you, Hermione Winters." He took her hand delicately, "Sirius Black," he winked. The blush on her cheeks only intensified.

As she was drawn into his grey eyes, and admired his long, wavy black hair, she had to remind herself that it was not appropriate to find Sirius Black attractive. He would be Harry's godfather. An adult. Someone she had no business staring at in that way.

Sirius seemed to have noticed and flashed her another smile. "Ilvermorny, you say? Why do you not have an American accent?"

Hermione winced. How silly were she and Dumbledore not to have factored that in? She had to think of something quickly.

"My family is from England. We moved to the United States when I was small, due to my father's work," she lied.

Not wanting to get more into details of her life, Hermione turned around and continued her battle with getting her trunk on the train. James and Sirius came up along side her.

"Let us," James offered, as he and Sirius each took an end of her trunk and hoisted it in with the others.

"Thank you."

For a few seconds, the three all stood in an awkward silence. Hermione didn't really know what to say to the two of them.

"Well…" she began. "I better go find a place to sit on the train. It was lovely meeting you both."

Before waiting for a response, she turned and hurried her way inside, but it seemed James and Sirius were not letting this mysterious new girl go quite so easily.

"Winters!" Sirius called after her. Hermione turned around. "Why don't you come sit with us?" he offered, gesturing towards a compartment he and James stood next to. " I promise we won't bite… much," he grinned.

Although she truly wanted to turn down his offer, she remembered what Dumbledore had said about befriending the boys. At the time she worried about how she would achieve that, but now it seemed that fate had simply offered her an answer, one she shouldn't ignore.

"Alright. Thank you, Black."

James and Sirius let Hermione enter first, and when they both came in, Sirius took the seat right next to her, and James sat across from the pair of them. James reached into his pocket and pulled out three small items.

"Chocolate frog, Winters?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Oh. No thank you." She was far too sick to her stomach to even considering eating anything.

James shrugged and tossed one to Sirius. "Suit yourself."

Just then the compartment door opened and Hermione nearly fell out of her seat. Looking towards her, with obvious surprise in his honey colored eyes, was a teenaged Remus Lupin. Hermione was stunned at the complete difference between this boy standing before her and the man she had come to know. The most prominent difference was the absence of most of the scars on his face. Yes, he did still have quite a few, but not nearly as many as he had in her time. And there was something about his eyes that were different. They didn't look as hollowed. They appeared to have more light in them - hope.

"Remus!" Sirius exclaimed, "Come meet the new girl."

Remus plopped down next to James and offered his hand to Hermione. "Hello there. I'm Remus, as you might have guessed from Sirius' outburst," he chuckled. "Remus Lupin."

Hermione couldn't help but to smile back. For some reason, she had felt more comfortable meeting Remus, as opposed to when she first encountered James and Sirius.

"Pleasure to meet you, Remus. I'm Hermione Winters."

"Now I feel I should warn you," Remus smirked as he sat back in his seat. "You should be careful around these two. They're nowhere near as innocent as they'll pretend to be."

James and Sirius both wore identical looks of overly dramatic shock on their faces. Hermione giggled at their reaction, and had a pretty good feeling that Remus was right.

"I'll keep that in mind," she laughed.

"James, did our _dear_ Remus just tell the new girl that we would _pretend_ to be innocent?" Sirius gasped.

James shook his head sadly. "I believe he did, mate. How could he _ever_ speak of us in such a way?"

Remus rolled his eyes which only caused Hermione to laugh more. The three of them were truly something. She was already starting to like them all very much. They had an easy-going, friendly nature to them, that immediately began to make her feel a bit at ease.

As the boys caught up and recounted stories from their summer holiday, Hermione looked out the window of their compartment. She noticed a lot of the students slowing down when they saw her, and nudging one another as the looked in. Some were even rude enough to point right at her, fully aware that she was looking at them. She sat a little lower in her seat and tried to hide herself behind Sirius as much as she could.

It seemed the boys noticed Hermione's discomfort and turned their direction towards their classmates. Two girls were standing in front of their compartment whispering back and forth, clearly talking about the random girl who was sitting with James, Sirius and Remus.

"Move along there," James called out to them.

Both girls jumped and quickly scurried away. Hermione heard their giggling trailing behind them.

"Don't worry about them, Hermione," Sirius told her. "No one will bother you as long as you're with us."

Knowing that Sirius was probably right, she gave him a small smile and thanked him.

"So what year are you in?" Remus asked, attempting to bring Hermione into the conversation.

"I'm in my seventh year," she sighed. "It'll be strange to finish my final year in a completely new environment."

Hermione felt a lump in her throat, since she had not technically lied. Yes, she may be on her way to Hogwarts, but it was not the school she had known. She wasn't even sure if the staff would be the same, let alone knowing that all of the students would be completely foreign to her. It truly did feel like she was attending a new school for her last year.

"That is completely understandable. But don't worry, we're all in our seventh year, as well. Hopefully you'll be in Gryffindor with us," Remus reassured her.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow and pretended to feign ignorance. "Gryffindor?" she asked. After all, she was supposed to be from a completely different school.

"Hogwarts has four houses," Sirius took over and began to explain. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin."

At the mention of Slytherin, James snorted. "Slimy gits," he mumbled.

Hermione tried to stifle a giggle at James' comment.

"Well I hope I am in Gryffindor with you all, because you've been exceptionally kind to me so far," she told them and honestly prayed the Sorting Hat would place her in Gryffindor once again in her life.

"Our daring, nerve and chivalry set us Gryffindors apart," James joked with a wink.

The compartment door then opened; Hermione felt like the blood drained from her body. Staring at her with his mouth wide opened, was a short, pudgy, blond-haired boy with watery eyes. _Peter Pettigrew._

"Alright there, Pete?" Sirius asked.

Peter nodded, but had not taken his eyes from Hermione. The question of, _who is this,_ was clearly written all over his face.

"Peter, this is Hermione Winters," Remus told him. "She's a transfer from The States."

Hermione gritted her teeth and balled her hands up tightly to keep them from shaking. She felt the hatred and the desire to slap him across his pink face coursing through her entire body.

"This little git is Peter, Pettigrew," Sirius said.

Peter reached his hand across to shake Hermione's. At first she did not move, but realized she must remain civil. It would have looked peculiar for her to have taken to the other three boys so quickly, but flat out dismiss Peter without even knowing him. Slowly she reached forward and wrapped her hand in his clammy one. She felt as if she could have vomited.

"Pleasure," she said shortly.

Peter's eyes widened, he looked shocked at the less than warm introduction to Hermione. "Hi," he squeaked.

As Hermione sat back in her seat, the whistle from the train sounded and it began to make it's way from the station. Hermione's heart rate picked up as they began moving, knowing it would not be much longer now until she would be beginning her mission here in the past. Soon she would be at Hogwarts and had no idea of what was to come. But for now Hermione decided to put those worries aside, and just try to enjoy these few hours with James, Sirius and Remus as they laughed and rode their way through the countryside.


	4. Chapter 4

The afternoon, thankfully, went by rather smoothly for Hermione. James and Sirius did most of the talking; they truly were quite funny together. Remus tended to roll his eyes often at the pair of them, and Peter mostly looked on with obvious admiration in his eyes for his friends. It was hard for her to believe while watching him, that he would one day betray everyone in that compartment. He seemed so sweet, and soft spoken, not to mention, just as witty as his friends - which was a total shock for Hermione.

Maybe there could be a way for her to possibly stop him from joining Voldemort, she thought.

Soon the sun set behind the hills and twilight had arrived. It would not be long until the arrived to Hogsmeade Station.

"Hermione?" Peter asked timidly.

Her skin crawled when he called her name, yet she tried to appear as friendly as she could manage. "Yes?"

"I hope I'm not being too forward, but I was just wondering what made you move back to England and come to Hogwarts?" His cheeks turned a brighter shade of pink.

Hermione sighed and hoped she would be able to lie convincingly enough, since she knew it would probably not be the last time she would be asked the same question.

"My parents passed away this summer," she answered softly. Thinking of her own parents, safely tucked away in Australia, with their memories wiped, helped bring a genuine tear to her eye.

The four boys all looked at one another with sympathy clear in their eyes. Sirius patted her forearm gently. "I'm so sorry to hear that," he said in the most serious and genuine tone she'd heard from him yet.

"Me too, Hermione. I'm sorry for bringing it up," Peter told her.

"If there's anything you need..." James trailed off, but Hermione understood the sentiment.

"We're here for you," Remus finished.

Hermione was sincerely touched by the authentic kindness all four boys were showing her at that moment. It made her feel horribly awful for lying to them.

"Thank you. I truly appreciate that," she sniffled.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Remus cleared his throat and suggested they all put on their robes, since they would be arriving at the school in no time.

When the five of them were changed and sat back in their seats, Hermione's palms began to sweat, upon seeing the village of Hogsmeade come into view out of her window. She felt the color slowly drain from her face as the panic began to set in. Sirius must have noticed her discomfort and put an arm around her shoulders to give her a gentle squeeze.

"You'll be alright. Just stick with us and you'll be absolutely fine," he assured her with a dazzling smile.

Hermione squirmed from under his arm and tried to return his smile. Though she had the feeling that she looked quite manic.

"Hope so," she whispered more to herself than in response to him.

Soon the train came to a stop at the station and she watched as dozens of students passed by their compartment. Most of them were laughing loudly and talking with the excited voices many students had on their first day of term. When the year was new and all felt as if they had a fresh start.

Hermione stood and stretched from the long day of travel.

"Come on, Hermione. We take carriages up to the school," Sirius informed her as they all made their way out.

Hermione and the boys fell in line with the other students and slowly walked towards the exit. Despite the fact that she was surrounded by all of those people, she had never felt more alone. Her stomach churned and she worried she might become sick.

"You're going to love it here. Promise," Remus said from behind her, causing her to jump.

Hermione responded with a shrug and a half-smile.

Once out on the platform, some people called to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. Many asked if they had a good summer, and some inquired on what kind of prank they might have been planning for the first day of term. No one seemed to pay Hermione much attention, and the few who had only gave her a quick, curious glance. Never had she felt like such an outsider in a place that had once been so familiar to her.

When she heard Hagrid calling out to the first years, directing them towards him, Hermione had to stop herself as she almost waved and shouted a hello to the half-giant. Her throat grew thick as she reminded herself that the Hagrid towering over the many students to the left of her, would have no idea who she was.

Her attention was quickly brought back to the boys when she heard Sirius groan.

"Get a grip, Prongs. You're not still on about Evans, are you?" he chastised.

James flushed a dark tint of red as he stared longingly towards the carriages. Hermione turned in the direction James stared and gasped quietly. A beautiful girl, with the longest red hair she had ever seen, was laughing with a few girls before climbing into the carriage with them. Lily hadn't noticed the five students who were now all looking in her direction.

"Give it a rest, James," Sirius continued. "How many times does she have to tell you that she's not interested? You're just embarrassing yourself at this point, mate."

"Piss off, Sirius," James said with a glare towards his best friend.

After Sirius replied by giving James a particularly rude hand gesture, a carriage pulled up in front of them.

"Ladies first," Sirius said, offering Hermione his hand to help her inside.

Hermione thanked Sirius and felt a steady warmth creep up her cheeks when she placed her hand in his rough, calloused palm. She assumed Sirius had noticed her blush, since he winked and the side of his mouth curled up into a cheeky half-grin.

Hermione had to get ahold of herself and not be taken in by the charm of her best friend's future godfather.

When the four of them were all seated, and the carriages began to move - pulled by Thestrals, which Hermione assumed only she had been able to see - Hermione took a look out the window and watched the magnificent castle rise up from the scenery. The site of the glistening windows, and lanterns lit throughout the grounds, which used to fill her with a sense of homecoming, now caused her to feel nothing but apprehension. Normally Hermione could plan and figure out every last detail of whichever task she was meant to do, yet this time, she felt as if she were just floating in the breeze. The feeling of not being in control terrified her as much as it angered her.

"Hermione? Did you hear me?" Remus asked.

"Oh, sorry!" She jumped. "What did you say, Remus?"

She heard James snigger as Remus smiled politely at her.

"I asked if you would like me to show you the way to Professor Dumbledore's office? He's the headmaster, and I'm assuming you probably need to speak with him before joining us for the feast." he repeated.

"I do, actually. That would be lovely, thank you, Remus," she said, then noticed Sirius' expression darken to something that looked very much like disappointment. Hermione suppressed an eyeroll.

Once they entered the school, Hermione took a moment to let the familiarity of it wash over her, to try to give her a bit of comfort. She stood in the Entrance Hall and attempted to ignore the fact that she was currently standing with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, and just took in the sites of the moving staircases, suits of armor, and even Peeves, who was floating above their heads cackling. For a brief second in time, Hermione closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and tried to convince herself that although she was in an entirely different year, she was still at Hogwarts - her home.

"Hermione?" Remus spoke up next to her. "Are you ready?"

Hermione opened her eyes and smiled at Remus. She managed to bring her heart rate down just a bit, and tried to control her breathing. In through her nose and out of her mouth, she mentally reminded herself.

"I am," she said with more meaning than he could have possibly known.

With a quick goodbye to the other boys, Remus turned and led the way up the stairs and towards the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Hermione made a conscious effort to trail behind just a hair, to keep up with the pretense of she being a new student at the school.

"I'm sure you're probably very nervous, but Professor Dumbledore is a great man. A little different, but great all the same," Remus tried to comfort her.

Hermione almost laughed out loud. He was dead on about Professor Dumbledore. _Different_ was certainly an understatement. But she couldn't ignore the obvious admiration and respect that rang out in Remus' voice as he spoke of the headmaster.

"So I've heard," Hermione said with a little chuckle.

When the two finally arrived at the bust of the stone Gargoyle, Remus' mouth turned down in a frown. "I'm so sorry, but I don't know the password. I've just realized."

Hermione shuffled through the papers she had with her and gave Remus a reassuring smile. "That's alright, Remus. I actually have it right here," she said raising up one of the documents she held. "Thank you for showing me the way, and also for being so kind to me."

A hint of color tinted Remus' cheeks as his mouth pulled upwards. "It was nothing at all, Hermione."

Hermione turned toward the stone bust and said, "Jelly Slug," then brought her attention back to Remus as the Gargoyle moved out of the way and the spiral staircase began to appear.

"I'll see you in the Great Hall, I suppose."

Remus nodded as Hermione took a step onto the stairs.

"I'll keep my fingers crossed that you end up in Gryffindor," she called after her, as she began to rise up and out of site.

When she reached the top and found herself facing the wooden doors of Dumbledore's office, Hermione's panic began to crescendo again. What if he didn't believe her? What if he threw her out of the school, assuming her to be some sort of trap sent by Voldemort? What if he attacked her?

With a deep steadying breath, Hermione raised her shaking hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she heard a familiar, albeit younger voice call out.

When Hermione walked into the office, she was somewhat surprised to see that it hadn't really changed between the time she was in and the time she had known. Dumbledore already had many of the same spinning little trinkets on his tables, some letting out puffs of smoke. His Pensieve resided in a cabinet to her left, and his desk was set in the middle of the room, with two red armchairs sitting in front of it.

Dumbledore looked up from his desk as she entered, and she watched his eyes briefly widen in surprise.

"Hello," he said politely. "I was not expecting any visitors at the moment." His eyes narrowed just a fraction as he bowed his head and watched her over the top of his glasses, as he had done so many times in the future. Though this Dumbledore was much younger, his face softer and less wrinkle-filled, his hair not quite as silver, and he seemed to be holding himself differently.

She gathered the documents that she had brought with her, squared her shoulders and tried to mentally prepare herself. "Please, sir. My name is Hermione Granger, but I will be known as Hermione Winters for the duration of my stay here. That is, if you permit it." Dumbledore remained silent, yet watched her with thousands of questions now swimming in his eyes. He inclined her head as to tell her to continue on. "You've sent me here, sir. From the year nineteen ninety-eight, that is." She paused for a heartbeat. Something flashed through Dumbledore's eyes. "I was sent here to set a certain chain of events right. I - I have an envelope to give you from yourself in the future." She held up the documents the future Dumbledore had given her, before slowly walking towards the headmaster's desk and placing them before him.

As Dumbledore picked up the envelope and opened it, Hermione's blood raced. "I know it sounds mental, sir. But, I swear, I speak the truth," she said with a hint of desperation in her voice.

Still he had not spoken another word to her, but he did read over the letter she had given him. An occasional ' _hmm', 'oh yes_ ,' or _'I see_ ,' was all said.

After nearly ten minutes, Dumbledore had finished going over all the of the information that Hermione had given him. When he looked up, she was beyond relieved to see that twinkle in his blue eyes, and a warm smile form on his face.

"It does seem that everything you have said is indeed the truth, Miss Granger."

Hermione felt her shoulders release a small amount of the tension they were holding as a sigh of relief escaped her. "Thank you, sir." She was entirely grateful for whatever it was the future Dumbledore had written for his younger self to read.

"Please, Miss Granger." Dumbledore gestured towards the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

When Hermione sat down and took a look up at this Professor Dumbledore, she watched as he clasped his hands together and looked back at her as if she were some sort of experimental spell - some sort of oddity. His scrutinizing gaze made her squirm uncomfortably in her seat. She felt extremely exposed.

"It seems I have advised myself here," he held up the letter from the sealed envelope," that it would be in your best interest not to let anyone know who you really are, or where you have come from."

Hermione, who had figured as much, nodded. "Yes, sir."

"If you would prefer, I shall accompany you to the Great Hall, where we could sort you into one of the four Houses." His mouth curved upwards. "Although, considering what you have done today, I would venture a guess at Gryffindor." He winked.

Hermione let a nervous chuckle out, as she assumed her information stated which House she was in during her time at Hogwarts. "Thank you, sir."

Dumbledore flourished his wand, sending Hermione's documents into a drawer next to the cabinet containing the Pensieve. With another swish, it closed and Hermione heard the click of a lock, securing her true identity away. Dumbledore then rose from his chair and Hermione quickly followed suit.

"Shall we, Miss Winters?"

Hermione felt a jolt in her chest upon hearing her new fake name used so conversationally by Professor Dumbledore.

"Y-yes, sir."

When they entered the Great Hall together, Hermione's face burned with embarrassment seeing that every eye in the room was on her. The only thing she wanted to do in that moment was run towards the table she had sat at for the last six years of her life, and hide amongst the rest of the Gryffindors. She glanced that way as she walked, and happened to make eye contact with Sirius, who winked and smiled at her. For whatever reason, she felt herself calming slightly after he had done that. It must have been the fact that he was someone familiar to her, she thought. With a clearing shake of her head, she continued to trail behind Professor Dumbledore, and tried to tune out the whispering that followed her on her way towards the staff table and Sorting Hat.

Just when she reached the front of the hall, the last of the First Years was being sorted. "RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted, as a tiny and terrified looking sandy haired boy hopped off the stool and ran to his new House's table. Dumbledore then walked towards Professor McGonagall, who was looking at Hermione with her lips pressed thin and obvious curiosity in her eyes. Dumbledore leaned in and whispered something to Hermione's former Head of House, who also was much less wrinkled and grey than the woman she had known. McGonagall's eyes softened as Dumbledore spoke to her, and she offered Hermione a rare smile.

"Of course, Albus," McGonagall said as Dumbledore backed away.

With a comforting pat on Hermione's shoulder, Dumbledore walked away from the two women, and headed towards his seat in the middle of the staff table.

Professor McGonagall spoke quietly to Hermione as she lifted the Sorting Hat off of the stool. "This is the Sorting Hat, Miss Winters. I shall place it upon your head, and it will decide which House you will reside in for the remainder of your time here. Your House will be where you live, sleep and spend a majority of your free time. It will be your home," she advised her, although Hermione was more than aware.

"I understand, Professor," Hermione said then took a seat on the stool in front of her.

When the hat was placed upon Hermione's head, she blanched as the rough and eerie voice spoke in her mind for the second time in her life.

 _Secrets and deceit_ , the hat began. Hermione stiffened. _There is also an abundance of courage, yet also an exceptionally clever mind...where to place you…?_ Hermione silently pleaded for Gryffindor, as her mission there very much depended it. _Gryffindor or Ravenclaw,_ the voice repeated three times. Hermione swallowed loudly. _Yes, yes, I see. Better be…_ "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. Hermione let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in until that moment.


	5. Chapter 5

The Gryffindors clapped for Hermione - the loudest applause coming from her new friends. She smiled at Professor McGonagall, who pointed her towards the correct table, and Hermione hopped off the stool and headed that way. Sirius and Lupin moved apart to make room for her when she arrived.

"Well done, Hermione! I'm so pleased," Remus said brightly.

"I'm just happy I was placed somewhere with some familiar faces," she told him honestly.

Sirius poked her in the side, causing her jump and to let out a squeak of surprise. "You're just happy, because now you get to see me all the time," he joked with a cocky smirk.

Hermione gave Sirius a playful slap and narrowed her eyes. "Watch yourself, Sirius Black," she scolded.

James, Remus and Peter went completely silent when she slapped Sirius, then all broke out into raucous laughter.

"I"m starting to like this one more and more," James said between laughs. "She'll put you right in your place, Pads!"

Remus bumped Hermione with his elbow and had at a warm and affectionate look in his eyes. "Yes, Hermione. I think you'll fit in quite well. Plus," he looked pointedly towards Sirius. " _He_ could afford to be knocked down a peg or two."

Sirius threw a dinner roll at Remus for that comment, which Remus just barely dodged.

At that moment, someone sat down across from the five of them. Hermione's mouth popped open when she saw the almond shaped green eyes of her best friend staring at her. She then knew what everyone had always gone on about, Lily's and Harry's eyes truly were _exactly_ the same. Out of all the things Hermione had experienced so far that day, that was by far the strangest and most difficult thing for her to take in yet.

"What are you lot doing to this poor girl already," she asked sternly, yet a playful smile played on her lips.

Of course it was James who answered. "Nothing, Evans. Hermione here was just teaching Sirius some manners."

Lily looked back at Hermione and let out a tinkling laugh. "Good luck with that," she said with a wink.

"So is this the year you finally give in and go out with me?" James asked Lily, with an over exaggerated wiggle of his eyebrows.

With a snort, Lily rolled her eyes. "Please, Potter. I've already told you that I'd choose the Giant Squid before choosing you."

Although her words were harsh, the tone of her voice was certainly light and teasing. James seemed to have picked up on that as well, since he broke out in a toothy grin.

"Duly noted," he said.

Lily's face went pink, then she turned her attention back to Hermione. "You better be careful sitting with this lot. People may think that you're trouble," she teased.

"I'll be careful," Hermione laughed.

"I'm Lily Evans, by the way; Head Girl. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me."

Hermione's heart felt heavy as this friendly girl introduced herself and treated her so warmly without even knowing her. She'd always heard that Harry's mother was a wonderful woman, and now experiencing it first hand, she could see that all of those people had been correct. Even in the few minutes they had spoken, Hermione could tell that she was a genuinely nice person.

"Thank you, Lily. I'm Hermione Winters. Transfer from Ilvermony."

Lily then stood up from the table and gave a serious look to the four boys. "Be nice to her. I'm sure she's scared enough already." Then her eyes moved to Sirius. "Especially you, Black," Lily said with an edge of steel in her voice.

Sirius' brow furrowed as he stabbed at a potato on his plate. "Oh pipe down, Evans. She'll be fine with us."

Hermione couldn't fight the smile that played on her lips when she heard the protective tone in Sirius' voice.

"Well it was a pleasure meeting you, Hermione," Lily said after huffing at Sirius. "I have some start of term things I need to attend to, but I'll make sure to catch up with you later on in the common room."

"Absolutely. It was so nice meeting you, too," Hermione said, her mind still reeling from the entire experience.

After the feast, Hermione and the boys made their way up to Gryffindor tower. Again, Hermione tried to be extra careful to linger behind and give the impression that she was unsure as to where to go. She even let herself fall into the trick step, the one Neville so often forgot about.

When her leg disappeared, and Hermione staggered forward, Sirius stopped and immediately helped her up.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I forgot to warn you about that."

"That's alright. Thank you," she said, pretending to be shaken up as he lifted her out of the hole.

Finally they all arrived in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Remus gave the password, _Gillyweed_ , then they led her through and into the common room.

Once they were all inside, James spread his arms wide. "Well, this is it. Home sweet home," he told her.

Hermione looked around at the fluffy couch and armchairs she had so often occupied in front of the grand fireplace. Her eyes then glanced over the red and gold rugs on the floor, the tables the students used for homework and games, then the portraits on the walls. The common room hadn't changed in twenty years, she realized, as she looked around and pretended to be in awe of her _new_ home. "It looks very cozy," she whispered. There was a strong part of her that wanted to cry. It was so familiar, yet so different that it caused a lump to form in the middle of her throat.

"It's not so bad," Sirius said with his chest puffed out.

Hermione noticed he was looking intenetly at her as he said that. She bit her bottom lip and looked away from him, as she felt the blush spread across her face. Internally she cursed her physical response to the obvious attractiveness of young Sirius Black. He was too charming for her own good.

She needed an escape.

"It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted," she announced and forced out a yawn. "Which way to my room?" she asked.

Remus pointed towards the stairs ahead of them. "Just go straight up there and to the right. I'm sure Lily will be up there with you shortly, in case you have any more questions or need help with anything."

"Or you can always come and find me," Sirius said with a wolfish grin.

Hermione shook her head. "Lily should be perfectly fine, but thank you anyway, Sirius."

James, Remus and Peter sniggered.

Dragging her feet, Hermione walked towards the stairs then stopped before going up and turned around. "Thank you all for helping me and showing me around today. I truly appreciate it."

The boys waved her off and all told her it was now problem, all talking over one another and making it hard for Hermione to distinguish what they were saying.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you. I'll see you all in the morning, I suppose." She took a few steps up the stairs before calling over her shoulder, "Goodnight."

She heard the boys call after her.

"Goodnight!" James yelled.

"Sleep well, Hermione," came from Remus.

"Just wait, you'll love it here," said Peter.

Then she stopped short when Sirius shouted, "Try not to have _too_ many dreams about me."

Hermione slowly turned around and narrowed her eyes. "You sure think highly of yourself, don't you, Sirius?"

Again the three other boys laughed loudly as she continued up the stairs, leaving an open mouthed Sirius behind. Although she did feel a small flutter in her stomach at his following words. Words she knew that she was not intended to hear.

"Merlin she's something. Quite pretty, too. Don't you think?"

She heard James next. "If you ask me, I think she's too good for you, Padfoot." His tone was joking, but it seemed Sirius didn't feel that way, since she heard a slap followed by a grunt from James.

Remus and Peter both laughed and seemed to be on James' side.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat, and she truthfully felt sort of good about herself after hearing that someone as clever, kind and handsome as Sirius felt an attraction towards her.

 _No_ , she told herself. _Stop it right now, Hermione._

Upon arriving in her dormitory, she found it empty. She took out her wand and summoned her night clothes from her trunk, then quickly got changed before climbing into her four poster bed. Prior to closing the curtains, she noticed the trunk next to the only other bed in the room had the initials _L.E._ inscribed on it. A part of her felt relieved, but a bigger portion of her felt incredibly nervous when she realized that Lily would be her only roommate. She truly liked the girl already, but knew that it was going to be difficult sharing a room with her, when she knew what Lily's future held.

After curling up on her side, Hermione waved her wand and closed the hangings around her. She changed her position a dozen times as she attempted to become comfortable and thought of the previous several hours. While living in the magical world, she had experienced many abnormal things, but everything that she had been through that day took the cake.

Since she had not slept well the evening before, Hermione soon found herself taken over by exhaustion, and not much later she was fast asleep. She'd made it through her first day.


	6. Chapter 6

The following morning Hermione was woken up by someone gently shaking her. She groaned and attempted to roll back over, yet cruelly they would not just leave her be and shook her once more. When she opened her eyes Hermione saw a pair of familiar green ones staring down at her.

"Stop, Harry. I'm awake," she said groggily, still half asleep. Then through a yawn she added, "I had the strangest dream. I was at school with your par-"

Hermione froze when she heard a girl's voice giggling. "Harry? Hermione, it's Lily."

Just then she realized where and when she was, and sat straight up. It felt like all of the warmth drained out of her as she looked at Lily, whose head was half cocked to the side, watching her as if she had lost her mind.

"Who's Harry?" Lily asked.

After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Hermione smiled sheepishly and lied. "I'm sorry, Lily. I was still sort of dreaming, I suppose."

Lily stepped away and headed towards her wardrobe, where she began to rummage through her clothing. Hermione heard Lily's muffled voice call back to her, as she stretched and swung her legs over the side of her bed.

"Well you better not let Black hear about you dreaming of some boy named Harry. From the way he was looking at you last night, I think you may have an admirer."

Hermione felt a slight jolt in her stomach, but determinedly ignored it. It didn't matter if Sirius admired her or not, because nothing could or would come of it. She snorted loudly at Lily's comment and headed towards her own wardrobe. Lily turned around and raised a skeptical eyebrow at Hermione.

"So you don't find him attractive at all? Most of the girls here won't shut up about him," Lily told her with a slight hint of disgust in her voice. It was obvious that Lily had never fell for Sirius' charm. Either that, or she had and was rejected by him at some point.

Deciding to settle on the truth, Hermione shrugged. "I'm not saying he isn't handsome...because he is. But I'm just not looking for anything at the moment. I'd rather focus on my studies."

Lily looked over Hermione as if she was appraising her, and smiled like she was happy with what she saw. She nodded and returned back into her wardrobe, throwing bits of clothing on the floor as she tried finding something for her first day of classes.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders, Hermione. I feel that you and I will get along just fine."

Hermione couldn't help but to feel as if Lily was right. She did seem like the type of person who Hermione could easily become friends with and was glad to see that the two of them were hitting it off so well already.

"Lily?" Hermione called over. "I was just wondering why there aren't any other girls in here."

When she first arrived into the dorm and saw that there were only two beds in there, Hermione found it strange. She always had multiple roommates when she attended Hogwarts.

"Oh, that's because we're seventh years," Lily explained. "Before this year I shared a room with two other girls, but this year they have their own dorm, and I - well _we,_ we have our own."

Lily pulled herself out of her wardrobe and began walking towards a dark brown, tarnished, wooden door on the opposite side of the room. "Also this," she said as she opened it with a smile on her face.

When Lily pulled the door opened Hermione was honestly surprised. She didn't know of the special privileges seventh years received when it came to living arrangements, and wondered if it was the same in her time, because she didn't remember any of the seventh year girls talking about it before. Not only did the girls get to share a room with only one another, but they also had their own private bathroom attached to it. That meant no more sharing showers with a dozen other girls from all of the years. Granted, when she became a Prefect her fifth year, she did have more privacy in the Prefects' bathroom, but this was entirely different. This was like having your own place with a flatmate. It comforted Hermione, because it meant that it would limit her interactions with too many students in that time frame. If she could help it, she would spend as much time with only the four boys and Lily as possible. She didn't want to tamper _too_ much with the future. Who knew would could happen.

Hermione nodded in appreciation as Lily stood next to their bathroom, like someone showing off a prize on a gameshow.

"That's lovely, Lily," Hermione said.

After gathering her things, Hermione headed in to take her shower, and more importantly, to try to calm herself thinking of the day ahead of her. Her nerves were on the fritz as she fretted about her first day of classes in the past, and encountering many students who she had only knew of by name, or knew of as adults for most of her life. A part of her was also morbidly curious about the Slytherins of this time, knowing how a good majority of them would grow up to become Death Eaters, or very sympathetic to Voldemort's cause.

Suddenly a thought came to her, and she dropped her bottle of shampoo on the shower floor. She stood completely immobilized as she just then remembered who one of those Slytherins would be. It hadn't even occurred to her before that moment that _he_ had attended school with Lily and the boys as well. Professor Snape would be one of her classmates. Would he remember her in the future?

Hermione had listened to Professor Snape insult Harry's father for the better part of six years, and she knew that they had not got on well at all. A part of her was sort of anxious to see their interactions together first hand, since she had already met James and did not think he was nearly as bad as Snape accused him of being.

When Hermione was dried and properly dressed for the day she grabbed her Gryffindor robes and attempted to put them on with trembling fingers. Now that she was ready and prepared to begin her day she was terrified. Again she had to remind herself to breathe and to take deep breaths as she opened the dormitory door, and made her way down the stairs into the common room.

For reasons beyond her comprehension, or her control, her eyes landed on Sirius the moment she stepped off of the stairs. She hated to admit it, but it appeared that Lily might have been right about her gaining an admirer. Sirius leaned against the back of the couch with his arms crossed over his chest, giving off an aura of extreme confidence and casualness. A grin with just a hint of mischief spread across his face when he saw her, and she wanted to slap herself when she felt a returning smile form on her own. Not only was he incredibly good-looking, he also had one of those smiles that seemed to be infectious; those ones in which you cannot help but to smile back.

Again she had to tell herself to pull it together when she felt her palms begin to sweat as he walked towards her.

"Morning, Hermione. Sleep well?" he asked.

Hermione nodded and answered in a cracked voice. "I did, thank you."

Sirius playfully elbowed Hermione while flashing his teeth at her. "So you did dream about me then?" he joked.

Hermione snorted loudly at his forwardness and shook her head. "I don't think I mentioned anything about nightmares, Sirius," she responded with exaggerated sweetness.

She heard James chuckle before he leaned in a staged whispered, "Bad luck, mate," to Sirius, who shrugged.

Remus then intervened, which Hermione was entirely thankful for.

"Sirius, leave Hermione alone, would you? She's only been down here all of two minutes and I'm sure she's feeling stressed enough since this is her first day of classes," he scolded with a look which made him look far more like Professor Lupin than the teenager he was.

Hermione gave Remus a small nod and a half-smile to express her thanks, which Remus returned. She then noticed Sirius as he rolled his eyes and began fiddling with his tie, trying to loosen it even more than it already was.

Thankfully Lily tapped Hermione on the shoulder and handed her school bag to her.

"Come on, Hermione. We better get going so we don't risk running late," Lily said.

As Hermione and Lily turned to leave, James called out behind them. Lily audibly sighed.

"Oi, Evans. Save me a seat, yeah?"

Hermione watched Lily's shoulders tense as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Potter, aren't you ever going to give it a rest?" she asked through her teeth. Hermione suppressed a laugh.

"Not until you say, 'yes,' I'm afraid," James responded cheerfully.

Lily shook her head and opened her mouth to respond, but then appeared to think better of it. Hermione wondered exactly what happened to cause James and Lily to get together, since it felt as if Lily just barely tolerated James. Perhaps there was more to the situation than Hermione could see at the moment? Did Lily just require a gentle nudge in the right direction? James really wasn't _that_ bad, was he?

After leaving the common room, Hermione and Lily had a lovely conversation on the way to the Great Hall. They talked about their favorite courses and Hermione found out that she and Lily had quite a lot in common. Lily's favorite subject was Potions, which Hermione did enjoy, but her favorite was Ancient Runes. And to her surprise, that was a class that Lily took, so she would at least have one person she knew in there with her.

When they arrived into the Great Hall it was starting to fill up with students from all four Houses. Lily and Hermione took a seat at the half-empty Gryffindor table, and began to load up plates with eggs, sausage and bacon. Hermione poured herself a cup of coffee and began to tuck in, shocked at how incredibly hungry she was, despite how nervous she felt.

Just as she was nearly finished with her food, Sirius plopped down beside her, and as he did, Hermione stiffened. She silently reminded herself to knock it off and relax, not wanting to give into whatever this effect he was having on her was. Remus and Peter then sat across from her, and James slid in next to Lily.

"Damn good food, isn't it?" Sirius commented looking at Hermione's plate. "I reckon that'll be what I miss the most about this place," he continued as he began to load up a plate for himself.

Hermione never really thought about it before, but Sirius was right. She'd never had food anywhere else like at Hogwarts. Not even at the Weasleys, and that was saying something, considering how amazing Molly's food was. She would actually miss the meals at Hogwarts, too, she realized.

Before Hermione could answer, she was interrupted by James. "Look at our luck, Sirius. Best seats in the place, yeah?" he said loudly, with a pointed look at Lily and then Hermione.

Lily gave Hermione a look which clearly said, _Please help me_. Hermione couldn't hold in the laugh that escaped her while looking at the wide panicked eyes on Lily.

"Sorry, Lily," Hermione mumbled.

As the group fell into a mutual silence while they ate, Professor McGonagall stopped by to hand out their time-tables. Hermione gave her a tentative smile, which she was shocked to see McGonagall returned, then she unfolded the parchment to see which courses she had been assigned. She was taken aback when she saw her time table was exactly what she intended on taking up during her actual seventh year. Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology and Charms.

"This is one of the best Mondays I've ever seen!" James exclaimed and caused her to jump.

Sirius leaned across her while holding his time table in the air. "Cheers, Prongs. Free period first thing, then right to Charms, followed by lunch. How easy of a morning could you get?" He then draped his arm around Hermione's shoulders causing her to tense up once again. "Hermione, would you like to join James, Peter and myself during the free period?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione wiggled herself out from his hold and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sirius, I can't. I have Arithmancy."

She noticed Remus' head pop up when she said that and she was about to ask him if he would be in the class as well, but Sirius groaned loudly.

"Not another bookworm?" He looked horrified at the thought.

 _What's wrong with that?_ she thought, slightly offended.

"Don't listen to him, Hermione," Remus said. "It's about time Lily and I have another friend who takes their studies seriously."

Sirius flipped off Remus then brought his attention back to Hermione. "Well...you were bound to have at least one flaw," he joked then stood up and jerked his head at James.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and huffed. Her cheeks flushed with a bit of anger. "Goodbye, Sirius," she snapped.

She heard Sirius let out a bark of laughter as he, James and Peter began to make their way out of the Great Hall. Right before they reached the door, Sirius turned and looked back at her. "I'll save you a seat in Charms," he yelled with a wink.


End file.
